


Short 43 - Who I Am

by stgjr



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005), Multi-Fandom, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Multiverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 17:39:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11491353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stgjr/pseuds/stgjr
Summary: Our narrator returns to Kamina City to deal with some loose ends.  And certainly not because Liara would have slapped him silly if he didn't try to help after all.  Not at all!





	Short 43 - Who I Am

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally posted on July 12th, 2015.

Liara was most cross with me.  
  
"You know how she feels," Liara said to me as we sat alone in the library. She was referring to Katara of course. "Watching you turn your back on people who need you isn't going to help that."  
  
"Oh, they don't need my help," I scoffed.  
  
"Their moon is about to crash into their homeworld!", Liara shouted. My, she was angry. "And you abandoned them because... what? Because they didn't live up to the standards you thought they should? Because they're acting out of fear?"  
  
"So what was I supposed to do, Liara?", I replied. My voice took on a hard edge. "Go back and overthrow Rossiu? Force them to dispel the mobs with violence? Divert all their resources into a petty civil war when they're on the verge of extinction? Maybe Shepard would just slug him and assert control, but it doesn't always work like that!"  
  
"You always figure out something, you just don't _want_ to," Liara charged. "You're acting petty!"  
  
"No, I'm acting _prudent_ ," I retorted. "I'm acting with restraint. Because I've done that before. Gone in, imposed my will, tried to make everything better." I couldn't keep the heat from my voice. "It didn't turn out so well."  
  
Liara went silent for a moment. She knew what I was talking about. Just as I knew she wasn't entirely giving up either. To break the impasse I gave a sigh. "Liara. I'm actually planning on helping them, alright? But in a way that actually helps them. Their problems are... unique."  
  
"Unique?", she asked.  
  
"Unique," I repeated. "As in.... how to explain this... I have explained to you before about how different cosmoses have differing levels of standard metaphysical consistency?"  
  
She nodded slowly. "Yes."  
  
"Your standard world, like say Agent Gibbs' cosmos, is relatively rock solid. It's, oh, let's say iron. Because this example is going to be overly simplistic as it is. The consistency is iron, so things don't develop there. The TARDIS might still work there, your biotics work, but they'll never develop anything like that themselves."  
  
"Right. And other cosmos that are softer allow more of what you're calling metaphysics."  
  
"Yes. Which, when it boils down to it, is the ability of sentient life to defy the laws of physics in various ways. Korra, for instance, can move elements with the flow of energy in her body, just like all the other Benders of her world. The Jedi and Sith, the entire existence of the Force, another example of that. Now, that Earth, the Earth of Kamina CIty, is in a cosmos so metaphysically soft it's the consistency of a milkshake that's been out in the sun too long. It's so soft it's about as soft as you can get before the standard scientific laws of creation start to become meaningless."  
  
"I see."  
  
"Which means," I continued, "that it can be a very difficult universe to muck about with. And at the same time, it means that the power of life in that cosmos is great enough that they, quite frankly, probably don't _need_ my help. Not normally. Little things maybe." I sighed. "Yes. Little things."  
  
Liara slowly smiled at me. "You've got something up your sleeve."  
  
I was deep in thought, but I nodded. "Oh yes. I do. I rather do.... and I have a few things to go do first, then when Katara is roused... we shall observe."  
  
  
  
  
I went about those chores and with everything ready, I took us back to Kamina City. The riots were gone. People had calmed down, though the city still bore the marks of battle damage. The moon was back in its proper place.  
  
And everyone was looking skyward.  
  
" _Goddess_ ," Liara breathed at the sight above us. "What's going on?"  
  
"Dimensional tear," I answered. "They're fighting in a pocket dimension, essentially a small universe."  
  
We watched as one gigantic humanoid form fought another; one was black with what one would call sinister edges to its design, purple flame surrounding it in an aura that seemed to keep its disparate pieces together. The other was red and yellow with green flame... ah, yes, Gurren Lagann itself, but different. With multiple faces on the joints to show each spot where a person was piloting it. And their fight appeared to be taking place on the scale of an entire universe, complete with spiral galaxies for them to toss around.  
  
Pah. Only spiral ones? Where were the Irregular galaxies? The rings? Or the ellipticals. No appreciation for ellipticals. No, it's the spiral galaxies that get all the fun. It's rather unfair.  
  
Nevertheless, it was an impressive ongoing battle. And we watched it intently. Or rather my stunned Companions watched while I did what I came here to do.  
  
Namely... I brought out the folding chairs. And the snacks. Must have snacks, you know.  
  
"Take a seat and enjoy the show," I said happily, flopping into my own. "And don't worry about a thing. I've prepared for everything." I reached over and picked up a plastic tub from the large food container I'd rolled out. "See? I brought popcorn."  
  
They were too busy watching, listening to the Anti-Spiral rant on and on about protecting the universe by exterminating the other races and locking themselves up so they don't evolve and blah blah blah. All while the... _ginormous_ conflict took place above us. I, of course, put on a pair of shades to help with the glare of the sun and started munching popcorn.  
  
It was a hard fight. The Anti-Spirals are a nasty sort. But they'd get sorted out well enough. Funny thing is that Humans, when pushed into a corner, have a frightening tendency to push back. Hard.  
  
So we watched as the fate of this universe was decided.  
  
Katara finally found her voice. "They keep fighting. They're not going to stop."  
  
"Humans are like that." I grinned. "When you lot get serious, you get dangerous and nasty." i popped a puffed kernel in my mouth and chewed it enthusiastically. "Mmm, needs more butter." After I'd corrected that error, I looked to Katara and continued. "You're an amazing species when you try. You soldier on, no matter the pain you've felt, and you do the right thing."  
  
"They weren't when we were last here," Katara pointed out.  
  
"True," I agreed. "Humans give in sometimes. They fall into the mud and start wallowing in it out of fear and panic and all sorts of other nasty feelings. But I find that many of them get right back up, wipe the mud off, and they start to climb again. Fascinating, isn't it?" I held out the tub. She ignored it, so I pulled it back.  
  
"What kind of power are they using?"  
  
"They call it Spiral Power, but really, it's spirit. The spirit of life, ever advancing, ever changing, determined to keep growing and prospering," I answered. "This cosmos is so soft metaphysically it generates its own energy. Lots of energy. Absolutely insane amounts of energy." I pointed out. "And that's what they're using right now."  
  
Katara and Liara said no more, choosing to watch the battle in silence. They didn't take the chairs though. Bit ungrateful of them, wasn't it? After I pulled them out and everything. And they didn't even have one bit of the popcorn! Bloody wasteful if you ask me.  
  
Anyway, I'm sure you've figured out how the battle went. No need to go over it, right? Of course not.  
  
Besides, for me, the important part was what came a week later.  
  
  
  
  
Before we begin, I will remind you lot of something I shouldn't need to, but which may be necessary to reiterate for what's coming.  
  
_I am a time traveler_.  
  
Anyway, I was in my best suit... well, okay, it's my normal suit, but my normal suit is my best one! Katara had set up to put on some elegant-looking Water Tribe gown with the shoulders bared above the sleeves and Liara was in a rather nice Asari formal gown. We had turned down the row of honor for the occasion because it wasn't our place to be. We stood to the back and middle, where my Companions could see everything and my height didn't block anyone's view.  
  
And we watched the procession as the lovely young lady Nia came down the aisle to join Simon, who cleaned up rather well with his white suit while Nia dazzled in her wedding gown. It was a nice ensemble, what with the red roses in her hair and everything. We watched and said nothing as the wedding proceeded. I did see tears in the eyes of my Companions, tears that I suspect came from other emotions. Liara's feelings for Shepard, undoubtedly, and for Katara... it was probably an unwelcome reminder of what she had missed having with Aang.  
  
They kissed. And as they did so, Nia... simply started to fade away. Her matter converted into blocks of energy and dissipated.  
  
"Doctor!", Katara said. I felt the horror in her voice.  
  
"They turned her into one of them," I answered. "They're gone, so nothing sustains the matter she was turned into."  
  
Everyone was watching in horror as Nia continued to fade away, exchanging goodbyes with Simon. It was so heartbreaking in tragedy. He'd fought for her, but her fate was sealed.  
  
Completely sealed.  
  
I could hear them say they loved each other as the disintegration got to Nia's arms and head. It was over.  
  
.....well, of course it's not over. I'm the bloody Doctor, that's who I am. Or who the hell I am, if one acts Roman when in Rome.  
  
Not that I'd necessarily advise acting Roman when in Rome. But that's another story.  
  
Green light erupted from between them, shining in the ring Simon had given her, the ring that had played such a role in their victory over the Anti-Spirals. The entire ring lit up. Golden and silver energy surged from it.  
  
And as it surged and moved outward, Nia's body started to coalesce from the energy it had dissipated into before. Bit by bit, piece by piece, as she and Simon gasped in shock and everyone else remained speechless with surprise. Above them, the green light from the crystal in her ring coalesced into a sigil familiar to me, which caught everyone's attention until it dissipated.  
  
When it was all over, Nia stood with Simon, completely intact, as if nothing had happened. As if she'd never started disintegrating in front of us. She and Simon had tears running down their cheeks as the realization struck them.  
  
"Alright, just what the hell was that?!", I heard Yoko shout.  
  
"Oh, not much," I said aloud, stepping forward through the crowd of their friends, hands in my jacket pockets. I moved to the front and looked over at her. A smile was crossing my face. "Just Oan crystal to power a matter restoration emitter I put in the ring. Pure crystallized sentient willpower, you can't quite beat that as a power source. Especially in this cosmos."  
  
Simon and Nia looked down at the ring. "You mean this ring..."  
  
I took my right hand out of my pocket and tossed something to them. Simon caught it. It was the original ring he'd intended to give her. "You don't know how hard it was to get that duplicate to look just right," I said. "But I managed it. Anyway, the device took information it scanned of Nia's physical form and reintegrated the normal physical matter, using the energy of the Oan crystal to replace the energy of the Anti-Spirals. Now that it's done, Nia's body is back to normal. She's just a regular, special Human being again."  
  
There was silence from the assembled for the moment.  
  
Simon and Nia came up to me and, without warning, gave me a group hug. I heard sobs in Simon's voice as he said, "Thank you, Doctor."  
  
I accepted the joint embrace. "Oh, come now. What kind of guest would I be if I didn't give you two a wedding gift?"  
  
I looked back, amongst the red and tear-filled eyes and the expressions of happiness and relief. Liara's tears flowed freely, but her smile told me how much she approved.  
  
Katara had a smile that was part celebration, but I thought I sensed a bit of bitterness in it too. If only I could bring her Aang back for her, right?  
  
Sadly, it's not always that easy.  
  
"Alright," I said, as they released me from the hug. "It's time for the reception. After all..." I winked. "I only came for the dancing."  
  
  
  
  
The celebration was lighthearted and full of emotion. I had snatched triumph from the jaws of tragedy. And in the process gave something of my own smack to the face of the Anti-Spirals, who would have destroyed Nia's life regardless.  
  
Plus I got to introduce the Drunk Giraffe to Kamina City. Always a benefit!  
  
As the party wound down we started to return to the TARDIS. But I had one last stop to make. I went over to my target, pulled out another object from my pocket, and called out, "Viral, catch!"  
  
The immortal Beastman - although frankly he looked Human save the clawed fingers and sharp pointy teeth - looked to me in time to catch the container of vials. "Get Leeron over there to synthesize some of that," I said.  
  
He looked to the vials and back to me. "What is it?"  
  
"Genetic resequencer," I answered. "As it turns out, when Lordgenome made your species, he kept it simple. To keep you from procreating and having the urge to, he simply introduced some intentional errors into the base code to keep your reproductive systems from functioning." I nodded at him. "That genetic resequencing formula will repair those errors."  
  
Viral's eyes widened. "You mean..."  
  
I nodded again. "Once that's spread into the Beastmen population, you can have children," I answered. "Even you. Granted, I'm still not entirely sure how he made your cellular structure resistant to aging, it's always possible you'll start to age again once you've taken it."  
  
He was still staring at the vials. Everyone was turning their attention to us and the celebration quieted. "I..." Viral closed his eyes. "I'll take that chance."  
  
"Of course."  
  
I turned to head toward the TARDIS, given the party was wrapping up. Before I could step in behind Liara and Katara, Rossiu called out to me. "Doctor! Why?" I turned to face him. I could see the shame in his eyes as he remembered how he acted on my last visit. "You do all of these wonderful things for us. Even when it's not your world. Even when we do things we shouldn't. Why do you take so much effort?"  
  
I chuckled, "Hrm." My response was something to consider.  
  
Oh, come on, you know the one I had to give.  
  
So I put some energy into my voice and asked, loudly, "Just _who the hell do you think I am?!_ " I let my smile grow. "I'm the Doctor. This is who I am, and it's what I do!"  
  
Yeah, sometimes, it is alright to do as the Romans do.  
  
There was cheering from them after i said that. I stepped into the TARDIS and looked back as another thought came to me. "Oh, and Leeron? Do find yourself a nice fellow to settle down with, you'll be happier."  
  
"Oh, you don't know how _hard_ it's been to find one though," the multidisciplinary engineer and scientist of the team replied. He gave me a cute wink. "But I'm still trying!"  
  
I chuckled again and snapped my fingers. The TARDIS doors closed.  
  
  
  
  
The story is not over. Remember when I asked you to remember I was a time traveler? That wasn't just over replacing the ring Simon gave to Nia. It came over something else as well.  
  
It can be tricky to materialize my TARDIS near to where it's been in the past. I'm not supposed to be able to move against my own Timestream, after all. Proximity can be resisted. But it can also still be done, so long as I'm careful.  
  
So I was back at the wedding, watching the entire thing. Watching the ring restore Nia, and my explanation to the crowd. All from within the TARDIS, mind you. Standing at the door.  
  
The figure that stood beside me was not really there. The TARDIS' holographic system, used so often by the TARDIS herself to appear to talk to me, was now utilized to form a link with the systems on one of those Gunmen mecha of theirs. A link that allowed my TARDIS to display image directly to the brain of the occupant.  
  
The dying occupant, I hasten to add.  
  
"Well," I said. "There he is. Your blood brother made it all the way."  
  
"Yeah." The holographic image of Kamina nodded, coming from his brain in his final moments of brainwave activity. "Thanks, Doc. It's good to see how far my Bro is gonna go once I'm gone."  
  
"He does go quite far," I agreed. "So did the others."  
  
"Yeah."  
  
There was nothing more to say. I turned to face him. "This is the best I could do for you, Kamina. I'm sorry I couldn't do more."  
  
"Hey, that's alright," he assured me. "You let me see that my Bro Simon drilled his way into the heavens and got to be with the girl of his dreams. That's all I could ask." His image flickered. "I guess this is goodbye?"  
  
"It is." I extended a hand. "Nice meeting you, Kamina."  
  
He grabbed my forearm instead, so I took his. "Awesome to meet ya, Doctor."  
  
And then the image faded. Kamina was gone.  
  
I turned to the others. "That was kind of you," Liara said.  
  
"Yes, well, it seemed like the right thing to do," I replied. I went up to the TARDIS controls and looked to Katara. She seemed deep in thought. "You alright?"  
  
She didn't answer. I nodded. This was going to take time, of course. But we'd get there. And showing her how indomitable the Human spirit could be seemed a decent way to lay the foundation for that.  
  
I pulled the TARDIS lever and we departed.


End file.
